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ISKCON Nepal's Relief Efforts

The following is a report ISKCON News received from ISKCON Nepal on April 29th, 2015:

"The devastating earthquake that took place on Saturday, 25 April 2015 has destroyed many houses and has disrupted basic services such as electricity, water and communication. The World Heritage Sites within Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur have been completely damaged. The ISKCON Temple in Kathmandu and Dharan, however, remain unscathed but the BBT building in Kathmandu has suffered cracks on the walls. Though many temples and deities within Bhaktapur Durbar Square have been reduced to rubble, the Jagannath Temple, which is under ISKCON management, has stood firm in the face of the earthquake, with minor damages to the roof. Many devotees have lost their near and dear ones and also their homes.

The major areas where the destruction took place were Gorkha, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. The devotees in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur are trying their best to assist the needy in their respective districts.

In Sankhu (16 km from Kathmandu), the houses along the road had been destroyed. The debris lay along the pavement of the road. There, the people were without food and shelter. When devotees went around distributing prasadam, people were highly appreciative of the non-discriminatory work done. They praised how this should be the standard for those who were willing to lend a helping hand. Anyone from any religious background or political background or any caste was freely given healthy portion of prasasdam. Upon inquiry, it was found that earlier members of the political parties had come to distribute blankets, packaged food and water, but they singled out their cadres and handed relief materials to them.

As prasadam was being distributed in Patan, the devotees came across a well-off family. Unfortunately their dwelling suffered extensive damage and were forced to reside on the road. They had ATM cards but the ATM machines were not operational and they had no money; they had to rely on bitten rice (chiura) provided by the relief workers. When devotees handed over hot khichadi to them, they were very thankful that they were able to get something hot to eat. Most of the relief workers are providing only dry and packaged food. We have not come across any organization that has been providing hot meals to the victims of the earthquake.

In Gongabu, a litre of water, which costs Rs.20, was priced at Rs.120 at the day of the earthquake and the following day it was priced at Rs.200 and yet there was a shortage of water. The devotees have been transporting and providing water from the temple to these places where the government has not yet delivered relief.

On Tuesday 28 April, we received 15 doctors from Bhaktivendanta Hospital, Mumbai, who will be conducting health camps around the affected areas with 20 local doctors. We have also received supply of 2 tons of grains from Kolkata.

Medical Camp in Kathmandu

We are in need of resources to keep up the distribution of food and other relief materials. We are hoping to reach out to villages where the relief materials have not yet reached. We would request everyone to assist us by sending funds in the accounts below:

5. Swift copy of remittance (for remittance from country other than India, sometimes the amount does not show in our bank account, in such case swift copy of remittance helps bank to trace the amount. If the fund shows up in bank account then this is not required) Swift message is generated by the remitter’s bank when you make payment to our account. Swift message is useful for us to trace the remittance as well to our bank.